The Tovil to Headcorn railway that never was
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Updated: 13:46, 30 January 2021
If you walk along the bank of the River Medway in Maidstone on the Fant side, near the foot of Bower Lane you will find the remains of a large brick pillar, seemingly serving no purpose.
It is all that is left of the bridge that once carried the rail track that spurred off the Medway Valley Line across the water to enter the Tovil Goods Station on the Tovil side of the river. (Now the site of the Lidl supermarket.)
All that remains of the Tovil Railway Bridge
The spur came into use about 1886 and didnât close until 1977, during which time it played an important role in bringing in supplies and exporting the products of the various papers mills which were then at the heart of Tovil.